Seoul, South Korea, November 13th / PRNewswire / -- Custom AI semiconductor (ASIC) solution provider SEMIFIVE announced today that its order performance in the third quarter of 2026 set a record, with consolidated new orders reaching 178.4 billion Korean won, and the order backlog rising to a historic high of 245.5 billion Korean won.
According to SEMIFIVE, new orders in the third quarter increased by 437% year-on-year, exceeding last year's same period of 33.2 billion Korean won; the total amount for that quarter was approximately 2.8 times that of the previous quarter, which was 63.3 billion Korean won, representing a 182% increase month-on-month, and also equivalent to 1.5 times the company's total new orders for the first half of 2026, which amounted to 118.9 billion Korean won. Driven by the surge in global demand for customized ASIC solutions, SEMIFIVE has accelerated its expansion into key international markets such as North America and Japan, leading to a significant increase in orders.
The company stated that its backlogged orders have reached 245.5 billion Korean won, a 75% increase from 140.3 billion Korean won in the previous quarter. As these orders are gradually converted into revenue, the continuously expanding backlog is expected to become a driving force for medium to long-term growth.
SEMIFIVE has achieved order growth in all business segments such as development, mass production, and intellectual property rights (IP) under ASIC; among these, the ASIC Service business has made the most prominent contribution.
The company stated that through high-margin advanced process one-stop projects, its ASIC Service business achieved strong growth. In the third quarter, new orders for this business increased by 705% year-on-year to 136.9 billion Korean won, compared to 17 billion Korean won in the same period last year. The company mentioned that winning a bid for a high-performance computing (HPC) project in North America further solidified its position as a provider of advanced process one-stop solutions for large global customers. SEMIFIVE also reported strong progress in its sovereign AI markets in South Korea and Japan, which led to substantial revenue growth.
SEMIFIVE indicates that, by leveraging the maturity of 4-nanometer technology and proven mass production records, the company has further strengthened its competitive advantage. With the accelerating demand for AI推理 chips based on cost-effective and high-performance 4-nanometer processes, the company is actively seeking new opportunities by relying on its existing 4-nanometer design and mass production capabilities.
In terms of volume production business, SEMIFIVE continues to receive stable purchase orders, while also accelerating the diversification and upgrading of its product portfolio. The company is shifting its product portfolio from small chips targeting local customers and based on traditional manufacturing processes, towards advanced process AI devices and specialized AI HPC chips. The company stated that with the support of exclusive mask production rights, the stable shipments and continuously expanding AI mass-produced product portfolio are expected to drive revenue growth starting from 2027.
In terms of the IP business, SEMIFIVE has maintained steady growth by acquiring more ready-made, silicon-verified IP orders. The silicon-verified IP provided by the company was initially developed for specific customers, but can later be supplied to a wider range of customers in order to maximize the value of its verified IP assets. SEMIFIVE is also expanding into leading 2-nanometer and 3-nanometer process technologies and HPC applications. The company states that its 2-nanometer and 3-nanometer processes, based on Samsung's foundry services, enhance its IP portfolio, aiming to unlock more order opportunities in the high-performance AI semiconductor market.
In the first nine months of 2026, SEMIFIVE accumulated revenue of 146.1 billion Korean won, a year-on-year increase of 62%. Notably, with the acceleration in the shipment of high-value AI chips, product revenue increased by 167% to 12 billion Korean won from the previous quarter's 4.5 billion Korean won, marking the beginning of a new growth phase. The company also continued to improve its profitability, with a cumulative gross margin reaching 28%, up 11 percentage points year-on-year; the operating profit margin improved to -14%, up 25 percentage points year-on-year. Looking ahead, SEMIFIVE expects that as the backlog of orders worth 245.5 billion Korean won begins to convert into revenue more quickly and is supported by the expansion of mass production scale, the company's financial performance in the fourth quarter will further accelerate.
SEMIFIVE, co-founder and CEO, Brandon Cho, stated: "Our latest performance demonstrates that SEMIFIVE has entered a new phase of accelerated growth in global AI ASIC markets. With these two powerful 'turbine engines' in the form of record-order backlogs and high-value mass production pipelines, we are poised to further accelerate our growth."
SOURCE SEMIFIVE
